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Sat, May 3 01:30 AM

IPL has lost its glamour. The Delhi IPL team has replaced its mini-skirted cheerleaders with a Bhangra troupe of 30 hearty, well-covered men.

The men in skirts, albeit ankle-length, had their first outing against the Bangalore IPL team recently, leading to both sighs of relief and disappointment from viewers. While GMR group refused to comment on the move when contacted, Delhiites had a lot to say about the change.

Call centre executive Arooj Singh says, "If you are looking at additional entertainment, the cheerleaders were more entertaining. At least they were glam.

Now it will be more Punju revelry." Software professional Radha Mohan, however, sees it as a cowardly act.

"IPL has done everything to copy the west - corporatisation, formation of a league, celebritising players, even Bollywood-ising it. But not to keep the cheerleaders was just a cowardly bow.

" Others like collegian Isha Chauhan question the double standards of the Indian TV audience. "If you can have scantily-clad item girls all over TV, then what's wrong with cheerleaders? Commercial breaks during a match feature skimpily-dressed women, too," she says.

While GenNow isn't pleased, the decision is a relief to the 40-60 age group. Like Suranjan Chatterjee, 46, who watches the matches with his son, 19.

"The images of women in short skirts is obviously not welcome." Nalini Mathur echoes his feelings.

"Whenever someone is declared out, my 13-year-old daughter dances in joy, just like the cheerleaders. In fact, she asked me to get a similar dress for her to wear when a match was on.

I'd rather have her watch Bhangra," she says.

Inside News

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